


Back Alley Hero

by jackattillo



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: M/M, Mugging, but it's pretty brief so i mean, meet not-so-cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-17
Updated: 2016-02-17
Packaged: 2018-05-21 07:12:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6042802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jackattillo/pseuds/jackattillo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The point is, if Lawrence was just a tad more considerate, Adam wouldn't be in this situation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Back Alley Hero

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: ""I tried to rescue you from being mugged but instead I got knocked out and you had to take me to the hospital after having your wallet stolen"

The worst part about living with Lawrence was that sometimes, he could be a real dick.

Not in the obvious sort of way either- he respected personal boundaries and tried to stay somewhat quiet whenever Adam was working or sleeping and all that fun stuff. It's mostly a bunch of smaller things that other people would probably look past but Adam isn't like other people. When things bother him, they _really_ bother him.

Like that goddamn bird that lives in the tree right outside of his window that just loves to... not chirp, but fucking scream it's head off at five in the morning. Or when he goes to make something easy to eat for dinner and he opens the fridge to find out that they're out of milk, which is really only a problem because he knows for a fact that Lawrence finished the last of it which meant he should have bought more, but Adam was literally at the store _ten minutes ago_. He even called before he left to ask Lawrence if he needed anything but nope, the other man didn't mention it.

Of course, Adam could just eat his cereal dry, without any milk, but he's not a savage, thank you very much.

It's possible that Lawrence simply forgot and wasn't trying to be a dick about it but god, Adam was looking forward to changing into his pajamas and planting his ass on the couch to watch a movie. Now? Now he's heading to the convenience store just down the block from his apartment. Usually it's just a two minute drive, if that, but yesterday he drove over something, who knows what, and now his tire is flat and he can't get a new one until tomorrow afternoon. Which means he has to walk to the store and sure, he lives in L.A. but it gets pretty cold at night and already he's regretting not grabbing a jacket.

(He would ask Lawrence if he could borrow his car but Lawrence was currently laying on the living room, drunkenly babbling about... space? Truthfully, Adam wasn't paying that much attention. The only thing stopping him from taking the car anyways was the fact that drunk Lawrence is notorious for hiding his keys. It’s great because he doesn't have to ever worry about Lawrence drunk driving, but finding them the morning after takes hours. Literal hours. Drunk Lawrence is the worst.)

It's late- almost ten thirty- and Adam is cold and tired and this is the last thing he wants to be doing.

The point is, if Lawrence was just a tad more considerate, Adam wouldn't be in this situation.

The only good news about all this is the fact that the convenience store is empty. The little bell above the door jingles as he walks into the store, squinting because holy hell, those lights are just a little too bright. Usually he'd wander around a little bit but he's a man on a mission. The whole 'buying milk' process takes about a minute and Adam is grateful for his permanent bitch face because the chatty looking man behind the counter doesn't say anything besides “here's your change” and “have a good night, sir.”

It's a quiet and calm night and if Adam's mind wasn't a steady chant of _almost home almost home almost home_ , he probably would have enjoyed it. L.A. was a gorgeous city. What with the all the palm trees and the almost always clear blue sky and-

And the muggings.

At least, that's what appeared to be happening in the alleyway just a few feet ahead of Adam. There were two people, the smaller of the two being pinned to the wall. Maybe they were making out or something, kids these days, so crazy, etc., which meant that Adam should really start walking again so this lovely couple didn't think he was a voyeur or a pervert or whatever.

It would have been so easy to just keep walking and ignore the look of distress of the smaller man's face, ignore the hushed whispers from the other that were absolutely a threat. It looked like he might have even been carrying a gun or a knife or something which meant that Adam should definitely get out of there.

But then the man being mugged sees Adam and they make eye contact and-

“ _Fuck_.” Adam exhales as he casts a quick glance to the sky before taking several steps forward and clearing his throat, knowing immediately that he would probably end up regretting this.

Surprised by the noise, the mugger turns around and dear god, the guy's actually wearing a ski mask. At least he’s dedicated to the role. He eyes Adam over and Adam's pretty sure the guy frowns but it's hard to see, what with the mask and all.

“Can I help you?” the guy drawls and even if wasn't for the mask or the knife or the fact that he's pinning a guy to the wall of some dirty alley, he still would have come across as sketchy.

“Listen bud,” Adam starts as he raises his hands up, the universal sign for 'please calm down and don't stab me', “just put the knife down and walk away and we won't have any problems.”

“Oh yeah?”

If Adam wanted to back down and pretend like he didn't see anything, it's too late now because the mugger takes a step away from the guy against the wall- that's good at least- and walks towards him instead. And now that the knife's pointed at him he's just a little bit scared. Not about being killed, but about being stabbed. More specifically, the pain that comes with getting stabbed. Doesn't seem like a Fun Time if Adam's being honest here.

“Yeah.” Adam says with a small nod of his head. He sounds more confident than he feels.

The mugger lunges forward and swings his fist. It's not until Adam's already taken a step back that he sees the glint of the knife. The man tries it again and Adam stumbles a little as he takes another step back, almost getting hit but dodging out of the way just in time.

Adam's never been good in high stress situations which is the only logical explanation as to why he decides that hey, maybe throwing the gallon of milk at this guy will work. So he does.

The whole moment plays in slow motion, the gallon of milk flying through the air and hitting the mugger in the chest. There's not nearly enough force behind it to actually _do_ anything, but he makes a grunting sort of noise and brings a hand to his chest. The gallon of milk twirls and falls and lands on the concrete, the plastic bursting open and spilling milk all over the sidewalk. The whole thing would be comical if it wasn't followed by the mugger charging right at him.

Adam all but slaps the knife out of the guy's hand as they tumble to the ground. His head slams against the ground and bursts of white flash across his eyes, making this whole situation more disorientating than it needs to be. He gets kneed in the gut and it knocks the air out of him but even with his vision still blurred, he manages to land a hit, a crooked punch against the guy's jaw. Or neck- doesn't really matter what he hit, just the fact that he actually got him.

Apparently, people don't like getting punched. Who knew.

Struggling to kick the mugger off of him, Adam sees the other man over the guy's shoulder. Oh yeah. Adam was fighting a stranger to protect this kid. Right. The stranger's face- scared, panicked, eyes wide- is the last thing he sees before everything goes black.

 

 

* * *

 

 

For a moment, as his eyes slowly blink open, Adam wonders if he ended up falling asleep on the couch. It wouldn't be the first time and it would explain why his body felt stiff.

He grunts as he shifts around and tries to sit up and that's when he realizes that one, he's not in his apartment and two, he's not alone.

“Uh.” Adam says oh so eloquently but in his defense, he's having a hard time piecing things together. The last thing he remembers is going to the store to buy milk. How he ended up in the hospital is a complete mystery to him and although the stranger sitting by his bedside looks vaguely familiar, he can't place where he's seen him before.

The stranger seems to take some pity on him and smiles, ducking his head and rubbing the back of his neck self consciously.

“You're in the hospital, uh, because of me, really- though I should be thanking you because if you didn't stop to help me out I might, I might be the one in the uh, in the bed. So. Thank you?” He stutters and trips over his words and Adam, in his dazed and confused state, thinks it's the cutest thing ever.

“Huh. Well, in that case, you're welcome.” A moment of silence passes before Adam clears his throat. “Everything's a little fuzzy so... mind telling me how I got here?”

“Oh!” The stranger blushes- _oh shit, he’s cute_ \- and briefly takes off his hat to run his hand through his hair. “I was, uh, I was getting mugged and you saw and... decided to step in, which was really brave and cool, like out of a movie or something, but you and the guy ended up fighting and I guess he got a really good punch in because then you sorta? Were knocked out?”

Adam raises his hand to his face and now that the stranger mentions it, the side of his head does feel really sore. With gentle fingers he prods at the tender skin and hisses because ouch, yeah, holy fuck.

“What happened after that?”

“Well, once you were down for the count he, uh... took my wallet.”

Adam frowns and the stranger shifts closer, moving to the edge of his seat, sitting up a little straighter. “But! But it's okay, really, I only was carrying like... like twenty bucks so it's not a big deal and the guy seemed pretty spooked after the thing with you so he didn't uh, give me any real trouble?”

Adam didn't consider himself a particularly lucky guy but this was a whole new level of bad luck, even for him. This was the one time he really went out of his way to help someone and it just ended up backfiring. Awesome. Maybe he should just never leave his apartment again. Adam was too wrapped up in his head head to realize the other man was still explaining what had happened.

“... and so I drove you here.”

“You drove me here?”

“Yes. Well, no, not exactly because I don't have a car, but I called a cab and-” before he can finish explaining, Adam laughs. It's a high pitched, nervous little thing because holy fuck, this poor guy got mugged and then had to drag his ass to the hospital.

The stranger looks concerned, eyes darting between Adam and the button by his bedside that will call the nurses, and quietly mumbles an “oh my god, are you okay?” between Adam's gasps for air. He looks genuinely worried and it's absolutely adorable. Adam wants to smoosh his face between his hands and kiss his nose, which is an unexpected thought but hey, he hit his head really hard against the ground, he's allowed to have mushy thoughts about... _Wait_.

“I have no idea who you are. I'm Adam.” he introduces as the sudden giggle fit comes to an end.

The stranger smiles and rubs the back of his neck again. “Sean.”

“Sean.” Adam repeats with a little nod. The stranger- no, _Sean_ lamely gives him the thumbs up for getting his name right and then flushes in embarrassment and shifts awkwardly in his seat. Adam's already smitten.

“How’d you pay for the cab? Since the guy stole your wallet.”

“Oh. That. I, um, might have... t-taken some of your money? It wasn’t a lot and I promise, I’ll pay you back!”

Usually, he's pretty calm and collected around people he's interested in-  especially guys because some men don't appreciate being hit on by another man-  but the fall must have really rattled his brain because he can't stop himself from blurting out, “Let's lunch.” His face screws up because wait, no, hold on. “Tomorrow, we should- as thanks for not leaving me knocked on the street, let's go out? For lunch. Let's- the both of us should- I want to buy you lunch tomorrow. Or coffee if that's your thing. Lunch and coffee.”

The look on Sean's face is borderline pained and Adam starts to think that he might have messed up, but then Sean starts to giggle. He lifts a hand to cover his mouth and his eyes crinkle at the corners as he tries to suppress his laughter and _oh no_. Adam's _fucked_.

“I'd like that.”

“Yeah?” Adam grins like an idiot. Maybe stepping in to save Sean from that mugger was the best thing he could have ever done.

“Yeah.” A lopsided smile has Adam's heart racing in his chest. “We should exchange numbers? If you want?”

“Sean, I would love to.”

Adam shifts around in the hospital bed and goes to search his pockets before realizing that he's wearing an ugly paper hospital gown. He turns to Sean to ask where they put his things but the other man is already a step ahead of him, handing him his pants in a neatly folded pile. Fumbling through his pockets, Adam double checks that he's not missing anything and once he's satisfied that he has everything, he pulls out his phone and turns the screen on.

There's one new message in his inbox. It's from Lawrence.

[>>] heeey, I think we're out of milk? can you pick som up?? thankss

Un- _fucking_ -believeable.


End file.
